Should Church Services Primarily Be For Evangelizing Non-Christians or Building Up Christians?

First Corinthians 14 provides us with some of the most detailed instruction about the corporate gatherings of Christians in all of the New Testament. In this chapter, Paul explains that church services should primarily be for building up Christians.

 

1. Church services should be intelligible to non-Christians. Paul argues that what is done Christian gatherings should be intelligible to non-Christians so that they may hear the gospel, be convicted of sin, and come to faith in Christ. Verses 24-25: “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
2. Yet fundamentally, church services are for building up Christians. Throughout the chapter, Paul’s dominant concern is that everything in the gatherings build up Christians. Verse 12: “So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.” Verse 26: “What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.”
3. Bottom line: While churches should certainly view evangelism as one purpose of their gatherings, the primary focus of church services should be to build up Christians.

Find more great resources for church health from Mark Dever and 9Marks Ministries atwww.9marks.org

Are You Horizontal or Vertical?

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman

06-16-2013

"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight" (Isaiah 5:21).

Many of us have been trained to make decisions and respond to problems in a horizontal way instead of vertical. Operating from a horizontal basis means we try to fix the problem through our own self-efforts by bringing greater pressure upon it through our reasoning or our natural skills. Operating from a vertical position means we are seeking God for theanswer and waiting for him to impact the problem. Perhaps it is a spouse who fails to put their clothes away, or a boss who is overly critical, or an employee that you clash with. When we operate horizontally we attempt to shame or coerce the other to change their ways.

God knows the solution to the problem before it ever exists. Our responsibility is to ask God for help to solve the problem and to rely on Him for the outcome. The minute we take on the responsibility, God quietly stands by to let us experience failure until we decide to seek Him for the answer.

One of the best examples of the contrast between a vertical and horizontal dimension in scripture is that of King Saul and David (see 1 Samuel 25). King Saul thought the way to preserve his kingdom was to kill David. While in pursuit of him there were several occasions when David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but David chose to wait upon God's timing and await his own deliverance because he understood authority. David had such respect for those who had been put in authority by God over him that he would not take matters into his own hands.

Saul represents the exact opposite of this principle. He thought David was the problem and sought to get rid of him through force. As a result, he lost his kingdom because he chose to rule horizontally instead of vertically under God's rule in his life.

No matter what problem you face today, stay vertical with God.

I am so pleased that God has bless Marcia will healing from cancer and prayer for her continued good health.